UCLA must continue to control the line against Arizona State – Daily News

It’s too early to assign a clear path for the Pac-12 South Championship, but Saturday’s game between UCLA and Arizona State at the Rose Bowl could put the winner in a position to control his own destiny.

Coach Chip Kelly is unwilling to make the game more important to UCLA than any other conference game. Coach Herm Edwards and his Sun Devils have the same mindset.

With several Southern California players on the ASU roster, Edwards believes it will also be important for his team not to allow the location of the game to crush the game plan and preparation.

“We need to strengthen our ability to stay focused,” Edwards said. “We have a lot of players who come from Los Angeles. … A lot of times (the players) are excited to go home, but they have to keep their cool and make sure this game doesn’t get out of hand.

When UCLA has football

The Bruins need to continue what has worked best: running the ball. UCLA (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) won games this season when Zach Charbonnet rushed for 100 yards or more. Between Charbonnet and Brittain Brown, the duo could pose a problem for an ASU defense that allows an average of 123 rushing yards per game.

Edwards knows Kelly will want to run the game, but is also aware that UCLA’s offense goes far beyond handling the ball.

“It’s a lot of eye candy,” Edwards said. “You have to have clean eyes. If you are playing with dirty eyes, it turns out to be a bad game on your part. They play with a lot of movement and a lot of lags. They go fast when they feel like they’re throwing you off balance.

Once the Bruins have established the run, the passing game will follow. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver Kyle Philips in his conference opener win over Stanford last week. Philips became the Bruin’s fourth wide receiver since 1996 to total multiple 100-yard receiving games with two or more touchdowns in a season.

Thompson-Robinson showed his double-threat ability, rushing for two touchdowns in the win.

“I don’t know if you stop (Thompson-Robinson),” Edwards said. “He’s a great athlete. You’re not going to stop the guy. You will try to contain it and minimize it.

When ASU has football

The UCLA defense forced Stanford to score six of its top seven positions. Producing something similar against ASU (3-1, 1-0) will be key. For that to happen, the Bruins need to limit what Sun Devils quarterback Jayden Daniels (Cajon High) does when he has the ball.

The Bruins’ pass rush will need to pressure and bring down Daniels before he finds himself in an impromptu situation that works in his favor.

“If the expressways fail or if the rush containment fails, then it’s really dangerous,” Kelly said. “This is where he is at his best because he is such a quality athlete that you have to know where he is all the time.”

Arizona State will also feature two running backs in the backfield with second-year running back Chip Trayanum scheduled to play this week.

“I think Herm made the decision to throw the ball,” Kelly said. “I think it’s more multi-tight ends. I think when he first got there it was a generalized offense. … This is going to be a real test for our first seven.

Running back Rachaad White (Mt. SAC) is the Sun Devils star runner with 262 yards and six touchdowns on 55 carries this season.

UCLA’s advanced defense is ranked fifth nationally, among 130 FBS programs, averaging 64 yards per game and just three rushing touchdowns this season.